Machook/Keoulkeech/Kettch - TLC - Comic Packs (Exclusive)

The Rebels are victorious over the evil Empire, but their fragile new Alliance is in jeopardy. A Hiromi spy secretly instigates a misunderstanding between the Ewoks and the Lahsbees. The conflict threatens to become an all-out war that will engulf the rest of the galaxy. Will the Rebels help the Ewoks and Lahsbees resolve their conflict before its too late?

For
those of you who may get confused while trying to
properly identify the correct names to the appropriate
Ewoks, when looking at a packaged sample of this Comic
Packs set, the Ewoks from left
to right are Machook, Keoulkeech, and Kettch. We
need this as a note for ourselves just as much as
for you. Probably the surprise Comic Packs
set of the year, we never expected Hasbro to help
us grow our Ewok army via this method. Hasbro decided
to make the most out of their 2007 TAC Romba & Graak (30 43) molds and retool them into three new never before
made Ewoks. Although they have very colorful cowls
upon their heads, once removed, you have three realistic
styled Ewoks. It’s always been quite “en
vogue” to rip and criticize Star
Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi specifically
for the Ewoks, but we (and
many more of you out there) are proud fans of the
closing story of the saga and big fans of these little
fur balls. It was a great
move on Hasbro's part to make this set because most
of us love to get additional Ewoks but we typically
only get one or two in the basic line per year, so
it was especially nice to get three more knocked
out at once. We are especially thankful for the once
a year Ewok addition to the basic figure line, but
it is especially great to get them peppered throughout
some exclusives like this Comic
Packs set too. Ewoks
should be a staple to the line and it seems as if
Hasbro is really beginning to pick up on this more
so now than ever before. But thanks to their revised
approach, we are growing our Ewok armies exponentially
and we are always ready for more and more. This Comic
Packs set was one of three Walmart exclusive sets
released in February 2009 and for the most part have
sold out in many areas. (This is a great thing!)
And although these comic sets have done very well
for the most part, most complaints from collectors
about this particular set stem from the fact that
these are based on the Marvel series appearances
of the characters which usually results in the use
of bright and odd color utilization. But except for
maybe a couple of hyper-colorful cowl choices, these
Ewoks turned out especially nice. If you mix
and match Ewok parts, you will find out just cool
these little guys are indeed.

Because
the Romba & Graak molds were retooled and repainted
and utilized as the basis for these figures, they
have a ton of articulation. They can be posed in
a multitude of different ways and the weapons they
come with are molded very well and can be held in
the hands very easily. Great figure designs and even
better accessories make so a very compelling product
for collectors and Hasbro gets high marks for taking
all of these things into consideration here. The
Ewoks also come with unique Stormtrooper armor, made
a bit out of scale, but cool nonetheless to fit their
stocky and corpulent frames. These “fur balls” have
apparently kicked some Imperial butt judging by their
assets and souvenirs. Hey, they did it in Return
Of The Jedi so they can certainly do
it in a comic book! The Ewok population is full of
diversity and individuality and this set adds three
more distinct “personalities” to the
whole mix. Although we don’t feel Hasbro has
run through the entire gamut of Ewok body types,
there have certainly given us a lot to chew on so
far. We look forward to them changing up the bodies
a little bit more to further diversify this Endor
species. Machook is a retool and repaint of the Graak
figure, so they look very similar to each other.
But there are enough differences to make them unique
obviously. Keoulkeech looks the most “cartoonish” of
the three Ewoks and he too is a retool and repaint
of the Graak figure as well. Interestingly, the name “Keoulkeech” should
sound very familiar to collectors. If you remember
back in the Star
Wars “Saga” line (2002-2004)
we got a 12” version of Keoulkeech in a two-pack
with Logray.
Well, we know now that the 12” figure was named
incorrectly because we discovered his real name that
to the Leektar & Nippet (BD 4) two-pack in 2008’s The
Legacy Collection, because clearly that
12” figure and 3.75” figure are the same
character. In short, it looks like we finally have
a correct, albeit Marvel-inspired, 3.75” interpretation
of Keoulkeech. Kettch is the “other” brown
Ewok in the set and he too makes a first time appearance
in any format. But he is a repaint of the Romba figure.
The three Ewoks are wonderful additions to the line
and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to purchase
them.

If
you are not a fan of the Expanded Universe, you may
still want to pick up this set because these three
Ewoks will undoubtedly add some body and depth to
your Ewok Village or Endor displays. And if you are
an Ewok fan then this set doesn’t require much
thought. There is value here because you are getting
three figures for the price of two. This helps any
Star Wars collector’s budget. The figures are
not bad at all and significantly beat out the POTF2
Wicket and Logray figure sculpts as far as quality,
accuracy and scale are concerned, and they are significant
upgrades to any Ewok made prior to 2006. This set
whets our appetite for what new Ewoks will be coming
down the pike for collectors. The Ewok species is
in the forefront of Hasbro’s vision and this
is a great thing. Ewoks have picked up momentum as
time has moved forward and we believe that the catalyst
to spark this interest was driven from the lack of
frequent Ewoks in the line. Hasbro has played their
cards right here and it seems the sky is the limit
for future Ewoks. This Comic
Packs set gives you
options too. If you think their cowls are too bright
and not authentic enough, they can be easily removed
and replaced with others already in your collection.
Or you can just display them without. Either way,
you will have a great addition of micro warriors
to help defend the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic
Empire. And it is our hope that Hasbro will consider
another Ewok three-pack or multipack set in the near
future. It is certainly worth every penny and it
is probably the quickest way to get Ewoks into your
collection. And as diverse as the Ewok population
is, there are countless choices to pick new Ewoks. (Editor’s
Note: Rebelscum.com has reported that “Kettch” is
not the name of an actual Ewok but rather a “made-up” character
from the Wraith Squadron novels.)

Collector Notes

Machook/Keoulkeech/Kettch

Machook

Status: Machook is a retool and repaint of the Graak figure from 2007's TAC Romba & Graak (30 43) figure set. This time the figure has been given pointier ears and the cowl has been modified as well. Lastly, the figure has been completely repainted to help match the character's appearance in the comics.

Keoulkeech

Status: Keoulkeech is a retool and repaint of Graak from 2007's TAC Romba & Graak (30 43) two-pack. This time around his ears have been flattened and has been outfitted with the hood from Romba. The figure also comes with a newly tooled stormtrooper belt and an oversized stormtrooper helmet.